BBC weather presenter Jemma Cooper is taken off air after ‘calling the Corporation “The Devil” on WhatsApp’
A BBC weather presenter has been taken off-air after allegedly attending anti-lockdown protests and calling the BBC “the devil”.
Jemma Cooper of BBC Bristol’s Points West has been off air for three months.
A whistleblower told the Bristol Post how Cooper had once allegedly turned up at the BBC Bristol newsroom after attending an anti-lockdown protest in Birmingham oragnised by Piers Corbyn.
The whistle-blower said one colleague was “left in tears” following a furious confrontation with Cooper, who Beeb employees feared was putting them in danger.
The source added she was convinced Covid-19 was not real and staff used to play a game of “where’s wally,” finding Twitter videos from the protests and trying to spot the allegedly covid-denying weather woman.
“Jemma should not have been attending protests then coming into the workplace,” the whistleblower said. “We are frustrated with her.
“The staff were aware Jemma had been going on the marches. It was flying round the newsroom like wildfire.
“We have rules in place where we’re being told we shouldn’t even be taking part in Black Lives Matter protests as BBC journalists – to go on a march against lockdown, what was Jemma thinking?”
She is reported to have been off the air for the last three months, but is still contributing to news stories.
Last month she allegedly confirmed her identity in an anti-lockdown Whatsapp group after a member asked her: “Are you the weather girl Jemma?”
She is said to have written: “Yes alas I work for the devil at the moment.
“I joined the corporation in 1999 when I was 28 and fully asleep. Comatose.”
In her BBC profile she says journalism “is in my blood,” adding: “Weather is a science and I have put a lot of effort in to learn as much as I can about it.”
BBC bosses sent round an email on November 5 saying: “Dear all, I want to let you know that Jemma Cooper has had to be called away from the office unexpectedly until further notice”.
Most read in News
A spokesperson for the BBC added: “Impartiality is the cornerstone of the BBC so we have strict guidelines all staff are expected to follow.
“Any breach is dealt with swiftly and seriously.”
The Bristol Post reports Cooper will not be able to comment as she is a BBC employee.